Last Comic Standing Live

I had a chance to see Last Comic Standing live on Friday night. Having watched season eight of the show on NBC, I was excited to see the top five finalists perform in person. Heather and I were impressed with most of the finalists while watching the television season, so we were looking forward to this new experience. Our seats were a few rows back from the stage, which gave us a great view of each of the performer’s roughly twenty minute sets.

Lachlan Patterson was the first comic to perform. On the show, he reminded me of Daniel Tosh both in his look and delivery method. Seeing him live felt the same. His tone and delivery were great, and his set of material was all new. I laughed a lot, and Lachlan proved why he was one of my favorite contestants on television.

Next up was Nikki Carr. I did not enjoy her material on the season, so I was not expecting much from seeing her live. Nikki performed almost all the same material from TV. If anything, I felt as if I liked her less after seeing her perform. I am not a fan of her “I am a big, unattractive lesbian but that does not matter in comedy” schtick. It annoys me.

Rocky Laporte took the stage after Nikki and had a mix of material from the season, expanded content and some fresh jokes. They were not all a hit for me, but I enjoyed his doofy presentation. Rocky uses his older, out of touch persona to deliver the material. Many of the punchlines were predictable, but I still laughed. And his random facts helped to break up his set.

Along with Lachlan, Joe Machi was my other favorite contestant of the season. I loved his odd voice and awkward delivery style. His live performance contained a lot of new material and had me laughing often. Joe’s take on current events and the world around him are equal parts hilarious and cringe inducing, both intelligent and funny in a way you wish it was not. I enjoyed the set.

Rod Man, the winner of season eight, took the stage last. His set was most of the bits from his time on television. Many were fleshed out more, but some of the better jokes were delivered different (i.e. less impactful) than on the show. Rod Man is a funny guy and his take on the mundane parts of the world is humorous, but I could not help feeling disappointed by the end of his set.

I was hoping for more from Last Comic Standing, though I think most of the audience would disagree with me. Those sitting near me were laughing non-stop, but I did not want to hear the same jokes rehashed. I wanted something fresh and new. Some of the performers delivered, but most felt like they had to cater to the audience’s expectations. I suppose in their line of work, that is crucial. It is just not what I wanted to experience.

2 comments

I had some of the same reactions to the show. I think I liked Rocky Laporte a little more just because he’s from Chicago. I think Nikki had a couple good jokes to contribute to the live show, probably because they were too raunchy for television (same with Rod Man’s 69 joke). I laughed a lot during the show, but it doesn’t take much effort to make me laugh. I was a little disappointed with the redundant jokes, but I guess if fans requested them, then you gotta give ’em what they want.

Yeah, it was a mixed bag for sure. I think I underestimated what the general public is looking for in a show like this. For comedians in the future, it is probably better to go to a show when you don’t know much of their material to begin with, like Kumail.